Fake Check-In Entries Posted on Behalf of Social Network Users

ABSTRACT

An approach is provided in a fake check-in event is received at a software application corresponding to a user of the software application. Fake check-ins are initiated on behalf of the user in response to the fake check-in event. The software application posts a set of fake check-in entries on behalf of the user while the user is away. The posted fake check-ins are visible by other users of the software application and are used to obfuscate others that the user is out-of-town. In one embodiment, check-in entries that are received from the user after fake check-ins have been initiated are cached. In this embodiment, a local check-in event is received when the user is within the user&#39;s geographical local area and the cached check-in entries are posted so that they are now visible by the other users of the software application.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to an approach that provides virtuallocation check-in entries at a social network provider using both fakecheck in entries and caching of check in entries while the user is outof town.

Many social media sites allow users to post their physical location thatappears in various pages on the social media site, such as the user'spage and the page corresponding to a business or organization at whichthe user checked in. Users choose to check into a business for a varietyof reasons. These reasons include keeping the user's social media“friends” apprised of their whereabouts, increasing the chance ofmeeting friends at a particular business, and supporting variousbusiness by indicating that the user has visited the business. Moderncomputer networking, such as using the Internet, coupled with moderntravel technologies allows users to check in at businesses in variousgeographic areas, such as different places in a country or throughoutthe world.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An approach is provided in a fake check-in event is received at asoftware application corresponding to a user of the softwareapplication. Fake check-ins are initiated on behalf of the user inresponse to the fake check-in event. The software application posts aset of fake check-in entries on behalf of the user while the user isaway. The posted fake check-ins are visible by other users of thesoftware application and are used to obfuscate others that the user isout-of-town. In one embodiment, check-in entries that are received fromthe user after fake check-ins have been initiated are cached. In thisembodiment, a local check-in event is received when the user is withinthe user's geographical local area and the cached check-in entries areposted so that they are now visible by the other users of the softwareapplication

In a further embodiment, the set of fake check-ins that were postedwhile the user was away are removed when the user returns so that theyare no longer visible to other users of the application. Additionally,the fake check-ins that are posted are, in one embodiment, gathered fromthe user's prior check in history and are posted at appropriate timesand days of the week in order to more fully obfuscate others that theuser is out-of-town. In one embodiment, the indicator that the user isout of town is set manually by the user using a control provided by theapplication. In this embodiment, the second indicator indicating thatthe user has returned home can also be set manually. In anotherembodiment, the indicator that the user is out of town is set byreceiving a check in entry from the user at an entity, such as abusiness or organization, that is outside of the user's geographic localarea. In this embodiment, the second indicator that indicates that theuser has returned home can be set by the user checking into an entitythat is within the user's geographic local area.

The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity,simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary isillustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Otheraspects, inventive features, and advantages of the present invention, asdefined solely by the claims, will become apparent in the non-limitingdetailed description set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerousobjects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in theart by referencing the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data processing system in which themethods described herein can be implemented;

FIG. 2 provides an extension of the information handling systemenvironment shown in FIG. 1 to illustrate that the methods describedherein can be performed on a wide variety of information handlingsystems which operate in a networked environment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing various social media participants and howfake check-ins are used to prevent malevolent members of the socialmedia community from knowing when a particular user is out of town;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing registration steps used by a user to setup fake check-ins at a social media provider;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing steps between a user and the social mediaprovider to notify when the user is out-of-town and the transmission andreception of check-ins;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the steps used at the social mediaprovider to handle check-ins received from users;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the steps used at the social mediaprovider to perform fake check-ins on behalf of a user that isout-of-town; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the steps taken at the social mediaprovider to reverse the effects of fake check-ins when the user is nolonger out-of-town.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The following detailed description will generally follow the summary ofthe invention, as set forth above, further explaining and expanding thedefinitions of the various aspects and embodiments of the invention asnecessary. To this end, this detailed description first sets forth acomputing environment in FIG. 1 that is suitable to implement thesoftware and/or hardware techniques associated with the invention. Anetworked environment is illustrated in FIG. 2 as an extension of thebasic computing environment, to emphasize that modern computingtechniques can be performed across multiple discrete devices.

FIG. 1 illustrates information handling system 100, which is asimplified example of a computer system capable of performing thecomputing operations described herein. Information handling system 100includes one or more processors 110 coupled to processor interface bus112. Processor interface bus 112 connects processors 110 to Northbridge115, which is also known as the Memory Controller Hub (MCH). Northbridge115 connects to system memory 120 and provides a means for processor(s)110 to access the system memory. Graphics controller 125 also connectsto Northbridge 115. In one embodiment, PCI Express bus 118 connectsNorthbridge 115 to graphics controller 125. Graphics controller 125connects to display device 130, such as a computer monitor.

Northbridge 115 and Southbridge 135 connect to each other using bus 119.In one embodiment, the bus is a Direct Media Interface (DMI) bus thattransfers data at high speeds in each direction between Northbridge 115and Southbridge 135. In another embodiment, a Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus connects the Northbridge and the Southbridge.Southbridge 135, also known as the I/O Controller Hub (ICH) is a chipthat generally implements capabilities that operate at slower speedsthan the capabilities provided by the Northbridge. Southbridge 135typically provides various busses used to connect various components.These busses include, for example, PCI and PCI Express busses, an ISAbus, a System Management Bus (SMBus or SMB), and/or a Low Pin Count(LPC) bus. The LPC bus often connects low-bandwidth devices, such asboot ROM 196 and “legacy” I/O devices (using a “super I/O” chip). The“legacy” I/O devices (198) can include, for example, serial and parallelports, keyboard, mouse, and/or a floppy disk controller. The LPC busalso connects Southbridge 135 to Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 195.Other components often included in Southbridge 135 include a DirectMemory Access (DMA) controller, a Programmable Interrupt Controller(PIC), and a storage device controller, which connects Southbridge 135to nonvolatile storage device 185, such as a hard disk drive, using bus184.

ExpressCard 155 is a slot that connects hot-pluggable devices to theinformation handling system. ExpressCard 155 supports both PCI Expressand USB connectivity as it connects to Southbridge 135 using both theUniversal Serial Bus (USB) the PCI Express bus. Southbridge 135 includesUSB Controller 140 that provides USB connectivity to devices thatconnect to the USB. These devices include webcam (camera) 150, infrared(IR) receiver 148, keyboard and trackpad 144, and Bluetooth device 146,which provides for wireless personal area networks (PANs). USBController 140 also provides USB connectivity to other miscellaneous USBconnected devices 142, such as a mouse, removable nonvolatile storagedevice 145, modems, network cards, ISDN connectors, fax, printers, USBhubs, and many other types of USB connected devices. While removablenonvolatile storage device 145 is shown as a USB-connected device,removable nonvolatile storage device 145 could be connected using adifferent interface, such as a Firewire interface, etcetera.

Wireless Local Area Network (LAN) device 175 connects to Southbridge 135via the PCI or PCI Express bus 172. LAN device 175 typically implementsone of the IEEE 802.11 standards of over-the-air modulation techniquesthat all use the same protocol to wireless communicate betweeninformation handling system 100 and another computer system or device.Optical storage device 190 connects to Southbridge 135 using Serial ATA(SATA) bus 188. Serial ATA adapters and devices communicate over ahigh-speed serial link. The Serial ATA bus also connects Southbridge 135to other forms of storage devices, such as hard disk drives. Audiocircuitry 160, such as a sound card, connects to Southbridge 135 via bus158. Audio circuitry 160 also provides functionality such as audioline-in and optical digital audio in port 162, optical digital outputand headphone jack 164, internal speakers 166, and internal microphone168. Ethernet controller 170 connects to Southbridge 135 using a bus,such as the PCI or PCI Express bus. Ethernet controller 170 connectsinformation handling system 100 to a computer network, such as a LocalArea Network (LAN), the Internet, and other public and private computernetworks.

While FIG. 1 shows one information handling system, an informationhandling system may take many forms. For example, an informationhandling system may take the form of a desktop, server, portable,laptop, notebook, or other form factor computer or data processingsystem. In addition, an information handling system may take other formfactors such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a gaming device, ATMmachine, a portable telephone device, a communication device or otherdevices that include a processor and memory.

The Trusted Platform Module (TPM 195) shown in FIG. 1 and describedherein to provide security functions is but one example of a hardwaresecurity module (HSM). Therefore, the TPM described and claimed hereinincludes any type of HSM including, but not limited to, hardwaresecurity devices that conform to the Trusted Computing Groups (TCG)standard, and entitled “Trusted Platform Module (TPM) SpecificationVersion 1.2.” The TPM is a hardware security subsystem that may beincorporated into any number of information handling systems, such asthose outlined in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 provides an extension of the information handling systemenvironment shown in FIG. 1 to illustrate that the methods describedherein can be performed on a wide variety of information handlingsystems that operate in a networked environment. Types of informationhandling systems range from small handheld devices, such as handheldcomputer/mobile telephone 210 to large mainframe systems, such asmainframe computer 270. Examples of handheld computer 210 includepersonal digital assistants (PDAs), personal entertainment devices, suchas MP3 players, portable televisions, and compact disc players. Otherexamples of information handling systems include pen, or tablet,computer 220, laptop, or notebook, computer 230, workstation 240,personal computer system 250, and server 260. Other types of informationhandling systems that are not individually shown in FIG. 2 arerepresented by information handling system 280. As shown, the variousinformation handling systems can be networked together using computernetwork 200. Types of computer network that can be used to interconnectthe various information handling systems include Local Area Networks(LANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), the Internet, the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), other wireless networks, and anyother network topology that can be used to interconnect the informationhandling systems. Many of the information handling systems includenonvolatile data stores, such as hard drives and/or nonvolatile memory.Some of the information handling systems shown in FIG. 2 depictsseparate nonvolatile data stores (server 260 utilizes nonvolatile datastore 265, mainframe computer 270 utilizes nonvolatile data store 275,and information handling system 280 utilizes nonvolatile data store285). The nonvolatile data store can be a component that is external tothe various information handling systems or can be internal to one ofthe information handling systems. In addition, removable nonvolatilestorage device 145 can be shared among two or more information handlingsystems using various techniques, such as connecting the removablenonvolatile storage device 145 to a USB port or other connector of theinformation handling systems.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing various social media participants and howfake check-ins are used to prevent malevolent members of the socialmedia community from knowing when a particular user is out of town.Social network provider 300 provides facilities, such as a Web site thatuses a computer network (e.g., computer network 200 shown in FIG. 2),that allows users to communicate, often informally, with one another.Users include individual users of social network provider 300, such asuser 310, that access social networking data, stored by the socialnetwork provider, in social network data store 305. Social network datacan pertain to individual users (e.g., “friends,” “colleagues,” etc.) aswell as to entities (e.g., businesses, organizations, clubs, etc.).

Mobile computing devices, such as smart phones and the like, can beutilized to “check in” to an entity, such as a business or organization.When a user checks into an entity, a check-in entry is received at thesoftware application, such as at the social network provider's Web site.When a user checks into an entity, the software application posts thecheck-in on the user's social network page and also at the entitiessocial network page. However, as explained herein, a fake check-inevent, such as a check-in at an entity outside of the user's geographiclocal area, causes the user's check-in entries to be cached rather thanimmediately posted to the user's social network page and the entity'ssocial network page. When the user returns to their local area, orotherwise triggers a local check-in event, the cached entries are postedto the user's social network page as well as to the entity's socialnetwork page. While the user is away, fake check-in entries are postedby the social network software application with these fake check-inentries being visible to other users of the social network provider.These fake check-in entries are posted while the user is out of town inorder to obfuscate other users of social network provider 300 fromknowing that the user is away from home (and thus vulnerable to havingthe user's home and/or property burglarized and/or stolen while the useris away). Other users may be members of one or more different socialnetwork audiences. In another embodiment, a fake check-in event isreceived when a certain time period elapses after the user's lastcheck-in event. For example, if the user checks into a business entity,such as a gym, but is injured and taken to a hospital so that anextended period of time elapses (e.g., a day, etc.) since the user'slast check-in entry, then the system will automatically initiate fakecheck-ins to obfuscate the fact that the user is indisposed (e.g., atthe hospital, etc.) and is not at home. Audience 350 are associateddirectly with user 310, such as by being linked to the user through anonline friendship or linking process that verifies that the user wishesto allow members of audience 350 with access to user 310's socialnetwork data.

By utilizing network facilities, such as the Internet, users cancheck-in at entities in various geographic locations throughout theworld. In this manner, entities can be physically within a geographiclocal area that corresponds to a particular user (e.g., user 310), andcan also be physically outside of the geographic local area thatcorresponds to the user. For example, if the user's geographic localarea (e.g., home) is in Raleigh, N.C., then entities in geographicproximity Raleigh would be deemed within the user's geographic localarea. When a user checks in at a Raleigh-area entity, such as a gymlocated in Raleigh, then a check-in entry is posted on the user's socialnetwork page as well as the local entities social network page (e.g.,local entity 320). This check-in entry is visible by other users thatare members of audience 350 (e.g., friends of user 310) as well by otherusers that are members of audience 360 (e.g., customers, employees,supporters, etc. of the Raleigh-area gym).

When user 310 travels out of town away from the Raleigh area, then theactual check-in entries received from the user are cached rather thanposted and fake check-in entries are posted to obfuscate the fact thatthe user is out of town. For example, if the user travels to Austin,Tex. and checks in at an Austin-area gym, then social network provider300 would receive the check-in entry corresponding to the Austin-areagym. Instead of posting the check-in entry at the user's social networkpage and the out-of-town social network page (e.g., social network page330), the system caches the received check-in entry and waits until theuser has returned home (to Raleigh) before posting the check-in entries.In addition, malevolent users of the social network provider mayotherwise realize that the user is not checking into local Raleigh areaentities where the user typically frequents. Fake check-in entries areposted at local entities (e.g., the Raleigh-area gym, etc.) so that itappears as though the user is still in the Raleigh area. When the userreturns from the trip and is back in the Raleigh area, the cachedcheck-in entries are posted to the user's social network page as well asto the out of town entities pages (e.g., the Austin-area gym, etc.)where the user actually checked in while on the trip to Austin. Inaddition, in one embodiment, once the user returns home, the fakecheck-in entries that were posted while the user was out of town areremoved from both the user's social network page as well as from thelocal area entity pages (e.g., from the Raleigh-area gym, etc.).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing registration steps used by a user to setup fake check-ins at a social media provider. User processing commencesat 400 whereupon, at step 405, the user registers with the socialnetwork Web site (software application) for a fake check-in service thatis offered by the social network provider. In addition, the userprovides a geographic local area (e.g., town name, zip or postal code,GPS coordinates, etc.) that correspond to the user. Registration request410 is transmitted via a computer network, such as the Internet, afterwhich it is received by the social network provider. Social networkprovider's processing commences at 420 whereupon, at step 425, thesocial network provider receives the fake check-in request that wasprepared and sent by the user. At step 430, the fake check-inregistration is saved in social network data store 305 in a privatearea, such as a user profile area, that is not accessible by other usersof the social network provider. In addition, fake check-in options, asoffered by the social network provider, are prepared and transmittedback to the user as Web page 435.

At step 440, the user receives and displays the fake check-in optionsdialog (e.g., a Web page, etc.) that was transmitted from the socialnetwork provider. At step 445, the user selects whether manual orautomatic fake check-in initiation is preferred by the user. Manual fakecheck-in is a process whereby the user informs the social networkprovider when the user is traveling outside of the user's geographiclocal area so that fake check-in processing will be initiated for theuser by the social network provider. Automatic fake check-in is aprocess whereby the social network provider analyzes the user's check-inentries and automatically initiates the fake check-in processing whenthe social network provider senses that the user is outside of theuser's geographic local area (e.g., when a check-in entry is receivedfrom the user at an entity that is outside the user's geographic localarea, etc.). At step 448, the user selects a time threshold to use toinitiate an automatic fake check-in event. For example, if the userselects “two days” in step 448, then if a check-in entry is not receivedfrom the user within two days, the system automatically triggers a fakecheck-in event so that fake check-ins are posted on behalf of the userto obfuscate the fact that the user is indisposed or otherwise away andunable to perform check-in entries (e.g., at the hospital, withoutnetwork access, etc.). At step 450, the user optionally selects apreferred fake check-in option that is used by the social networkprovider in selecting the fake check-in entries. For example, the usercan select a “typical” week of actual check-ins from the user's historythat will be used as fake check-in entries when the user is out of town.Alternatively, the user can manually select the fake check-in entries(e.g., entity name, time of day, day of week, etc.) that the user wantsto use for the user's fake check-in entries. If the user does notprovide a typical week or select the fake check-in entries, then thesocial network provider can utilize an algorithm where appropriateentities are selected (e.g., based on the user's past check-in history,etc.), along with appropriate days of the week and time of day when thefake check-in entries will be posted.

A decision is made as to whether the user selected to use a typical weekof check-in entries from the user's history (decision 460). If the useropted to use a typical week, then decision 460 branches to the “yes”branch whereupon, at step 465, the user selects a previous week ofcheck-in entries to use as fake check-in entries (copying the entity,approximate check-in time, and check-in day of the week). On the otherhand, if the user did not opt to use a typical week, then decision 460branches to the “no” branch whereupon a decision is made as to whetherthe user opted to manually select the fake check-in entries to use(decision 470). If the user opted to manually select the fake check-inentries, then decision 470 branches to the “yes” branch whereupon, atstep 475, the user manually selects the fake check-in entries (theentities, approximate check-in times, and check-in days of the week) touse as fake check-in entries. On the other hand, if the user did notselect either a typical week or manual fake check-in entries, thendecision 470 branches to the “no” branch whereupon, at step 480, thesocial network application will use an algorithm to randomly select fakecheck-in entries that are used based on the user's past check-inhistory.

At step 485, the user's fake check-in options are transmitted to thesocial network application via the computer network as optionstransmittal 490. At step 495, the social network application receivesthe user's fake check-in options and saves the options in a private areaincluded in social network data store 305.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing steps between a user and the social mediaprovider to notify when the user is out-of-town and the transmission andreception of check-ins. Processing commences at 500 whereupon, at step505, the user is traveling outside of the user's geographic local area.A decision is made as to whether manual or automatic fake check-ininitiation is being used (decision 510). If automatic fake check-ininitiation is being used, then decision 510 branches to the branchlabeled “automatic” whereupon, at step 515, the social networkprovider's application software automatically senses when the user isoutside of the user's geographic local area (e.g., when a check-in entryis received from the user at an entity that is outside of the user'sgeographic local area, etc.). On the other hand, if manual fake check-ininitiation is being used, then decision 510 branches to the branchlabeled “manual” whereupon, at step 520, the user notifies the socialnetwork provider that the user is traveling outside of the user'sgeographic local area.

At step 525, the user performs check-in actions at entities that areoutside the user's geographic local area. These check-in actions resultin check-in entries being transmitted to the social network provider. Atsome point, indicated by step 530, the user returns home to the user'sgeographic local area. A decision is made as to whether manual orautomatic fake check-in initiation is being used (decision 535). Ifautomatic fake check-in initiation is being used, then decision 535branches to the branch labeled “automatic” whereupon, at step 540, thesocial network provider's application software automatically senses whenthe user has returned to the user's geographic local area (e.g., when acheck-in entry is received from the user at an entity that is within theuser's geographic local area, etc.). On the other hand, if manual fakecheck-in initiation is being used, then decision 535 branches to thebranch labeled “manual” whereupon, at step 545, the user notifies thesocial network provider that the user has returned to the user'sgeographic local area. At step 550, the user performs check-in atvarious entities that are within the user's geographic local area. Theselocal check-ins continue until the user once again travels outside ofthe user's geographic local area, at which point processing loops backto step 505 and the process described above is repeated.

Fake check-in initiation processing that is performed by the socialnetwork provider commences at 560 whereupon, at step 565, the socialnetwork provider either receives events from both the user and thesystem. These events can include fake check-in events that are triggeredmanually by the user or automatically triggered events initiated fromthe check-in subsystem of the social network application (system 300). Adecision is made as to whether fake check-ins (manual or automatic) havebeen initiated for the user (decision 570). If fake check-ins have beeninitiated, then decision 570 branches to the “yes” branch whereupon, atpredefined process 575, the social network provider's fake check-inprocess is executed for the user (see FIG. 7 and corresponding text forprocessing details). On the other hand, if fake check-ins have not beeninitiated, then decision 570 branches to the “no” branch which loopsback to step 565 to get the next notification from either the socialnetwork provider (system 300) or from the user.

After fake check-ins have been initiated and predefined process 575 hasbeen executed, a decision is made as to whether fake check-ins have beenterminated, either manually or automatically, for the user (decision580). If fake check-in processing has not been terminated (e.g., theuser is still out of town, etc.), then decision 580 branches to the“yes” branch which loops back to continue fake check-in processing usingpredefined process 575. This looping continues until fake check-ins havebeen terminated, at which point decision 580 branches to the “yes”branch whereupon, at predefined process 585, fake check-in reversalprocessing is executed (see FIG. 8 and corresponding text for processingdetails). After fake check-in reversal process 585 has been performed,processing loops back to step 565 to receive the next manual orautomatic notification.

The social network provider's high level check-in process is showncommencing at 590 whereupon, at step 592, the social network providerreceives check-in entries from the user at various entities (both withinand outside of the user's geographic local area). Predefined process 594handles the various check-in entries (see FIG. 6 and corresponding textfor processing details). In one embodiment, the system can initiate anautomatic fake check-in event when a given time period (e.g., a timethreshold set by the user, etc.) elapses after the user's last check-inwas received. In this embodiment, at step 596, the latest (last)check-in entry received from the user is timestamped. A decision is madeas to whether the user's next check-in request arrives before the timethreshold expires (decision 598). If the next check-in is received fromthe user, then decision 598 branches to “next check-in” branch whichloops back to process the latest check in as described above and resetsthe timestamp. On the other hand, if the amount of time since the lastcheck-in was received by the user exceeds the threshold, then decision598 branches to the “threshold exceeded” branch which triggers the fakecheck-in event and initiates fake-check in processing on behalf of theuser. For example, the user could set the threshold to be “two days” sothat if a new check-in entry is not received from the user in a two dayperiod, then the system will automatically initiate the fake check-inprocessing as described herein.

Social network provider check-in processing continues to loop back toreceive further check-in entries from the user and continues to processthe check-in entries using predefined process 596.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the steps used at the social mediaprovider to handle check-ins received from users. Check-in processingcommences at 600 whereupon, at step 605, a check-in entry (request) isreceived from the user at a physical entity location (e.g., a gym, agrocery store, etc.). At step 610, the user's private profile that isnot accessible by other users of the social network provider isretrieved and, at step 615, a business profile corresponding to theentity at which the user checked in is retrieved. Using data found inthe profiles, the location of the entity is compared with the user'sgeographic local area at step 620. A decision is made as to whether theentity is within the user's geographic local area (decision 625). If theentity is within the user's geographic local area, then decision 625branches to the “yes” branch whereupon an “away” flag is set to FALSEindicating that the user is not outside of the user's geographic localarea. On the other hand, if the entity is outside of the user'sgeographic local area, then decision 625 branches to the “no” branchwhereupon, the “away” flag is set to TRUE indicating that the user isoutside of the user's geographic local area. A decision is made as towhether fake check-ins have been initiated indicating that the user isout of town (decision 640). If fake check-ins have been initiated, thendecision 640 branches to the “yes” branch whereupon a decision is madeas to whether the user has requested to automatically sense when theuser is within or outside of the user's geographic local area AND if the“away” flag is FALSE (decision 645). If both conditions are true (theuser has requested automatic sensing of the user's in-town/out-of-townstatus and the and the check-in performed by the user is to a localentity), then decision 645 branches to the “yes” branch whereupon, atstep 650, an event is sent to the social network provider (see FIG. 5,step 565) to stop, or terminate, fake check-in processing. On the otherhand, if either the user has requested manual initiation of fakecheck-in processing OR the user is still outside of the user'sgeographic local area, then decision 645 branches to the “no” branchbypassing step 650.

Returning to decision 640, if fake check-in processing has not beeninitiated, then decision 640 branches to the “no” branch whereupon adecision is made as to whether the user has requested to automaticallysense when the user is within or outside of the user's geographic localarea AND if the “away” flag is TRUE (decision 660). If both conditionsare true (the user has requested automatic sensing of the user'sin-town/out-of-town status and the check-in performed by the user is toan out of town entity), then decision 660 branches to the “yes” branchwhereupon, at step 665, an event is sent to the social network provider(see FIG. 5, step 565) to start, or initiate, fake check-in processing.On the other hand, if either the user has requested manual initiation offake check-in processing OR the user is within of the user's geographiclocal area, then decision 660 branches to the “no” branch bypassing step665.

A decision is made as to whether fake check-ins are currently being usedfor the user (decision 670). If fake check-ins are currently being usedfor the user, then decision 670 branches to the “yes” branch whereupon,at step 675, the actual check-in to the out of town entity is queued touser's check-in cache 680 instead of posting the check-in to either theuser's social network page or to the entity's social network page. Onthe other hand, if fake check-ins are not currently being used for theuser, then decision 670 branches to the “no” branch whereupon, at step685, the actual check-in entries are posted to both the user's socialnetwork page 690 as well as to the entity's social network page 695.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the steps used at the social mediaprovider to perform fake check-ins on behalf of a user that isout-of-town. The social network provider's fake check-in processingcommences at 700 whereupon, at step 705, the social network providerretrieves the user's fake check-in configuration settings. A decision ismade as to whether the user has opted to use a typical week of actualcheck-in entries as fake check-in entries (decision 710). If a typicalweek is being used, then decision 710 branches to the “yes” branchwhereupon, at step 715, the entities (businesses, organizations, etc.)from the user's selected week are retrieved along with the time of dayand day of week to use for the fake check-in entries. On the other hand,if the user did not opt to use a typical week of check-in entries, thendecision 710 branches to the “no” branch whereupon a decision is made asto whether the user has opted to use a user selected set of fakecheck-in entries (decision 720). If the user has opted to use a userselected set of fake check-in entries, then decision 720 branches to the“yes” branch whereupon, at step 725, the user selected entity names areretrieved along with the time of day and day of week to use for the fakecheck-in entries. On the other hand, if neither a typical week or a userselected list was chosen by the user, then decision 720 branches to the“no” branch whereupon, at step 730, the social network providerautomatically retrieves random local entity check-in entries along withthe time of day and day of week from the user's history of past actualcheck-in entries to local entities.

At step 740, the list of fake check-in entries is queued to fakecheck-ins queue 750. Fake check-ins queue 750 includes fields for theday of the week, the time of day, and the entity name or identifier. Atstep 760, the fake check-ins process sleeps until the first day of theweek and time of day occurs as listed in fake check-in queue 750. Whenthe first day of week and time of day occurs, then a decision is made asto whether fake check-in processing is still being performed for theuser (decision 765). If fake check-in processing is still beingperformed (the user has not returned home yet), then decision 765branches to the “yes” branch whereupon, at step 770, the entrycorresponding to the day of week and time of day is retrieved from fakecheck-ins queue 750. At step 775, the retrieved fake check-in entry isposted to the user's social network page 690 as well as to the entity'ssocial network page 695. At step 780, the fake check-in is recorded infake check-in data store 785 where fake check-in data store 785 is aninternal data store that is inaccessible from users of the socialnetwork provider. Processing then loops back to step 760 whereuponprocessing sleeps until the next day of week and time of day in the fakecheck-ins queue is reached. When the next day of week and time of day isreached, the processing as described above is performed. Fake check-inentries continue to be posted until fake check-in processing isterminated, at which point decision 765 branches to the “no” branch andfake check-in processing ends at 795.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the steps taken at the social mediaprovider to reverse the effects of fake check-ins when the user is nolonger out-of-town. The social network provider's fake check-in reversalprocess commences at 800 whereupon, at step 810, the first recorded fakecheck-in that was recorded in fake check-ins data store 785 is selected.At step 820, the selected fake check-in is removed (deleted) from theuser's social network page 690 and, at step 830, the selected fakecheck-in is removed (deleted) from the entity's social network page 695.A decision is made as to whether there are more fake check-in entriesstored in fake check-ins data store 785 that need to be reversed(decision 840). If there are more fake check-in entries to reverse, thendecision 840 branches to the “yes” branch whereupon processing loopsback to select and process the next fake check-in entry from fakecheck-ins data store 785. This looping continues until there are no morefake check-in entries that need to be reversed, at which point decision840 branches to the “no” branch for further reversal processing.

At step 850, the first check-in to an out-of-town entity that was cachedin user's check-in cache 680 is selected. At step 860, the selectedentry is posted to the user's social network page 690. At step 870, theselected entry is also posted to the entity's social network page 695. Adecision is made as to whether there are more cached check-in entriesthat need to be processed (decision 880). If there are more cachedcheck-in entries to process, then decision 880 branches to the “yes”branch which loops back to select the next check-in entry that wascached in user's check-in cache 680 and the selected entry is posted tothe user's and the entity's social network pages as described above.This looping continues until there are no more cached check-in entriesto process, at which point decision 880 branches to the “no” branch andprocessing ends at 895.

While particular embodiments of the present disclosure have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that,based upon the teachings herein, that changes and modifications may bemade without departing from this disclosure and its broader aspects.Therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope allsuch changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scopeof this disclosure. Furthermore, it is to be understood that thedisclosure is solely defined by the appended claims. It will beunderstood by those with skill in the art that if a specific number ofan introduced claim element is intended, such intent will be explicitlyrecited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no suchlimitation is present. For non-limiting example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimelements. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim element by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim element to inventions containing only one such element,even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more”or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an”; the sameholds true for the use in the claims of definite articles.

1. A method implemented by an information handling system comprising:receiving a fake check-in event at a software application, the fakecheck-in event corresponding to a user of the software application; andinitiating fake check-ins on behalf of the user in response to receivingthe fake check-in event, wherein the fake check-ins further comprise:posting, by the software application, a set of fake check-in entries onbehalf of the user, wherein the posted fake check-in entries are visibleby other users of the software application.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein the fake check-in event is selected from a group consisting ofan out-of-town check-in by the user, an initiation request received atthe software application from the user, and an elapsed period of timesince a last check-in event was received from the user.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: receiving one or more check-in entries fromthe user while the user is physically outside of a geographic local areathat corresponds to the user; and caching the received check-in entriesin a cache area.
 4. The method of claim 3 further comprising: receivinga local check-in event at the software application corresponding to theuser of the software application, wherein the local check-in eventindicates that the user is within the geographic local area thatcorresponds to the user; and in response to receiving the local check-inevent, posting the cached check-in entries, wherein the posted check-inentries are visible by the other users of the software application. 5.The method of claim 4 further comprising: removing the set of fakecheck-in entries in response to receiving the local check-in event,wherein the removed set of fake check-in entries are no longer visibleto the other users of the software application.
 6. The method of claim 1wherein the software application is a social network application, andwherein the fake check-in entries are used to obfuscate the other usersof the social network application as to an out-of-town status of theuser while the user is physically outside of geographic local area thatcorresponds to the user.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the set offake check-ins are each flagged as fake check-in entries by the softwareapplication, and wherein the flags of the fake check-ins are not visibleby the other users of the software application.
 8. The method of claim 1further comprising: selecting the set of fake check-in entries from aplurality of previous actual check-in entries corresponding to the user,wherein each of the plurality of previous actual check-in entries werecheck-ins to one or more entities that are physically within geographiclocal area corresponding to the user.
 9. The method of claim 8 furthercomprising: identifying the set of fake check-in entries from anonvolatile storage area accessible from the social network application;generating a time-of-day and a day-of-week corresponding to each of theset of fake check-in entries, wherein the generated time-of-day andday-of-week are based on a check-in history corresponding to the user;and periodically posting individual fake check-in entries from the setof fake check-in entries based upon the time-of-day and day-of-week thatcorresponds to the posted individual fake check-in entries.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 further comprising: recording each of the periodicallyposted individual fake check-in entries in a fake check-ins data store;receiving a local check-in event at the software applicationcorresponding to the user of the software application, wherein the localcheck-in event indicates that the user has returned to the geographiclocal area that corresponds to the user in response to receiving thelocal check-in event: reading each of the fake check-in entries from thefake check-ins data store; matching each of the read fake check-inentries with fake check-in entries previously posted to one or moresocial network pages; and removing each of the matched fake check-inentries from the social network pages.
 11. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: receiving a first manual selection at the softwareapplication from the user, wherein the first manual selection is thefake check-in event; in response to the reception of the first manualselection, setting a flag indicating that the user is physically outsideof a geographic local area corresponding to the user; while the flag isset: receiving one or more check-in entries from the user; and cachingthe received check-in entries in a cache area; receiving a second manualselection at the software application from the user, wherein the secondmanual selection is a local check-in event that indicates that the userhas returned to the user's geographic local area; and clearing the flagin response to receiving the second manual selection.
 12. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: receiving a check-in request from the user,wherein the check-in request corresponds to an entity; determining thatthe entity is physically located outside of a geographic local area thatcorresponds to the user; and triggering the fake check-in event inresponse to the determination.
 13. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: receiving a check-in request from the user, wherein thecheck-in request corresponds to an entity; recording a timestampcorresponding to the received check-in request; determining that anamount of time has elapsed since the timestamp was recorded, wherein theamount of time exceeds a threshold; and triggering the fake check-inevent in response to the determination.
 14. The method of claim 1wherein the software application is a social network application, andwherein the method further comprises: receiving, at the social networkapplication, a current check-in entry from the user currently checkinginto an entity at a physical location; retrieving, at the social networkapplication, a private profile corresponding to the user, wherein theprivate profile is inaccessible from the other users of the socialnetwork application; retrieving, from the private profile, a geographiclocal area corresponding to the user; retrieving a geographic identityof the entity's physical location; comparing the user's geographic localarea with the entity's geographic identity; determining, based on thecomparison, whether the entity's geographic identity is within theuser's geographic local area; in response to the determination beingthat the entity's geographic identity is outside of the user'sgeographic local area: triggering the fake check-in event; setting aninternal flag that indicates that the user is outside of the user'sgeographic local area; while the internal flag is set, caching thecurrent check-in entry and one or more subsequent check-in entries in acache so that the check-in entries are not visible to the other users ofthe social network application; and identifying the set of fake check-inentries from a nonvolatile storage area accessible from the socialnetwork application; in response to the determination being that theentity's geographic identity is within the user's geographic local area:checking the internal flag; in response to the internal flag being setto indicate that the user is outside of the user's geographic localarea: sending a local check-in event to the social network application;clearing the internal flag to indicate that the user is no longeroutside the user's geographic local area; retrieving the cached check-inentries from the cache; posting the retrieved cached check-in entries,wherein the posted check-in entries are visible by the other users ofthe software application; and posting the current check-in entry,wherein the posted current check-in entry is visible by the other usersof the social network application; and in response to the internal flagbeing set to indicate that the user is within the user's geographiclocal area: posting the current check-in entry, wherein the postedcurrent check-in entry is visible by the other users of the socialnetwork application.